Speaker of Parliament Anita Among (right) interacts with her deputy, Mr Thomas Tayebwa (centre), and the Clerk to Parliament, Mr Adolf Kasaija Mwesige (left), ahead of the State-of-the-Nation Address at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds on June 6, 2024. PHOTO/FRANK BAGUMA
A s she opened the second last year of the five year-long tenure of the 11th Parliament yesterday, Speaker Anita Among made a clarion call to all legislators to use the final two years of their time to ‘successfully’ deliver on their expected roles.
“This is to also remind us the five-year-long tenure of the 11th Parliament is now at its second-last year,” she said.
Ms Among added: “It is therefore a moment for reflection on the gains that you have made, lessons that you have learnt and milestones ahead of you.”
She also boasted of the milestones achieved despite the hurdles suffered, especially major sanctions slapped against her, in the course of delivering on its mandate.
The nuggets contained in her speech in a sitting held at the Kololo Independence Grounds minutes before President Museveni’s State-of-the-Nation Address, showed that a total of 47 Bills were processed and 42 resolutions were made during the 87 sittings convened.
Likewise, a total of 62 reports were successfully tabled and adopted, with 60 ministerial policy statements delivered. Prime Minister Robina Nabbanja, as the Leader of Government Business in Parliament in the same period, responded to 323 questions in written form that the legislators asked her.
Ms Nabbanja answered 195 urgent questions put to her by the legislators and a total of five oaths were administered in the same period under review.
The period in question was last month climaxed by the passing of the 2024/2025 National Budget and a raft of five tax bills, once signed will guide the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) as it moves to mobilise revenue required to partially finance the 2024/2025 Shs72.13 trillion Budget.
In early April, the same Parliament pressed the Ministry of Finance to release the final Shs17.7 billion of the total Shs97.90 billion contract sum for the upgrade works on the Mandela National Stadium-Namboole.
The Confederation of African (CAF) management has since cleared Uganda to hold international games on the said turf with the first game slated to happen today between Uganda Cranes and Botswana and will on June 10 play against Algeria on the same turf.
Hurdles faced
Major parts of the said year in question witnessed several Members of Parliament slapped with sanctions for alleged mishandling of public resources and acts of human rights violations. Sanctions from the governments of the United Kingdom and United States were slapped on Speaker Among, two former ministers; Dr Mary Gorreti Kitutu, also Woman MP for Manafwa, and Ms Agnes Nandutu, also Woman MP Bududa District, and Lt Gen Peter Elwelu.
She, however, urged MPs to stay on course and reported to Mr Museveni that such instances would not deter Parliament from helping the Head of State in the pursuit of a Uganda that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party prides in.
“As leaders, we affirm our unwavering support and commitment to the realisation of your vision for your beloved country without fear or favour,” she said, adding, “we are aware that the call for leadership sometimes comes with the risk of being misunderstood, criticised, opposed, accused, sanctioned or even rejected. But we owe it to our society to stand firm and the good Lord will always be with us on that.”
Parliament also came under fire for allegedly spending Shs1.7 billion on four back bench commissioners in service awards, with some MPs pushing for the censure of the commissioners.
The four are three NRM MPs; Mr Solomon Silwanyi, Ms Esther Afoyocan, and Ms Prossy Akampulira said to have taken Shs400 Million each plus former Leader of Opposition, Mr Mathias Mpuuga, said to have pocketed Shs500m.
To this end, the Lwemiyaga County Mr Theodore Ssekikibo together with Ms Sarah Opendi [Tororo Woman MP] and Alion Odria [Aringa South County] have since embarked on a process to collect a minimum of 177 signatures needed to cause their impeachment.
What next?
Ms Among re-affirmed Parliament’s plan to hold rotational sittings of Parliament in four regions of the country.
The sittings will be held in the northern, eastern, southern and central parts of the country with President Museveni invited to open the first regional sitting slated to be held at the Kaunda Grounds in Gulu City on August 29.
The planned regional sittings are already facing resistance from the Leader of Opposition, Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, reasoning that it will be very expensive to hold these regional sittings since more than 500 MPs have to be moved to those respective places.
